Movie Review Rangrezz: Can it get worse?

Cast: Jacky Bhagnani, Priya Anand, Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Verma, Amitosh Nagpal, Pankaj Tripathi, Lushin Dubey

Director: Priyadarshan

The Indian Express rating: *1/2

Priyadarshan has been growing so steadily unwatchable these days that you fear the worst when you step into Rangrezz, a remake of the Tamil hit Naadodigal. As the film unspools, each of those fears come true: this is rock-bottom.

The setting is meant to be Mumbai, but it is just another version of Priyadarshan's micro-village we see in all his films, with its mish-mash of accents and housing styles and locations. Rishi (Bhagnani) is a jobless fellow who hangs about with his best friends Pakkya (Verma) and Winu (Nagpal). A long-lost love-lorn pal shows up, and his sad story gives them a mission. Off they go, just like that, to unite the lovers in the face of all odds.

I've been at a loss to figure out exactly why parental figures in Priyan's movies are so uniformly draconian. They all seem to live in a time warp, and start frothing at the mere thought of romance amongst consenting adults. In this fictional Lalitpur, the residents speak in an exaggerated Bihari-Purabiya lingo. So Pankaj Tripathi, who plays the girl's father is still comes off all right, but Lushin Dubey who is the lover boy's politician mother is laugh-out-loud ludicrous. Car chases with sword-and –gun-wielding goons in hot pursuit ensue; so does grievous harm to body parts. The proceedings get steadily gag-worthy, till you come to the inevitable question: can it get worse? Of course, as soon as you ask, it does.

It's not down so much to the actors in Rangrezz. Bhagnani and co (which includes Anand as his romantic interest) act up to the hilt. Rajpal Yadav, a Priyan regular, is unbearable. It's all down to the treatment, which is relentlessly loud and blaring. And some of the lines are so crass (that they've been blipped out makes no difference) they make you wonder: is this the same director who's given us Viraasat, and Gardish?

... contd.

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